It’s been way too long since my last update but I’ve been working on some exciting new ideas for my blog! I will have it up and running with regular posts once again and couldn’t be more thrilled.

Starting in January I am beginning two regular blog series. One that will involve going through Fairbanks, Jr.’s filmography in chronological order and another in which I will be sharing glimpses into my Fairbanks collection with tips and tricks for preservation and archiving of collectibles. I am also looking forward to getting back into blogathons!

Until then, be sure to check out these upcoming Fairbanks films on Turner Classic Movies and Filmstruck!

Turner Classic Movies

Flight Commander / Dawn Patrol (1930)

October 24 @ 6:30am (CST)

Little Caesar (1930)

November 5 @ 7:00pm (CST)

Mary Pickford: Muse of the Movies (2008)

November 7 @ 11:45am (CST)

Gunga Din (1939)

November 23 @ 3:00pm (CST)

Filmstruck

For Filmstruck subscribers, be sure to check out the following Fairbanks movies currently streaming!

A Woman of Affairs tells the story of Diana Merrick (Greta Garbo), a woman whose life spirals out of control and into darkness when she is refused the love of her life, Neville Holderness (John Gilbert).

Eva Lovelace wants nothing more than to be a stage actress. And not just any stage actress, she wants to be a GREAT stage actress. One of the great stage actors in rank with the Barrymores and the Booths. She waltz’s past their portraits, admiring them and dreaming of her own future as a star. She soon discovers that this pursuit might not be as easy as she had hoped and nearly loses it all trying to get there. But like any good Katharine Hepburn character, Eva Lovelace fights for what she wants until she gets it. And in many ways, Eva and Katharine are one in the same.

The year 1939 was undoubtedly a big year in movie history. Movies such as Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Ninotchka, premiered in 1939 and continue to be talked about nearly eight decades later. But there’s another movie that came out that year. A timeless swashbuckler that takes you on an journey you’ll never forget and one that has also stood the test of time. Of course, I am referring to the swashbuckling adventure of Gunga Din.

I am not a crier. I am intensely passionate, easily moved, deeply emotional, and perceptive but I am not a crier. However there is one thing that has always been able to pull the tears out of me and that is art. And film is one of the arts that can start the waterworks for me. And it often does. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a sad scene or a tragic story to draw a tear. Sometimes it’s simply the beauty of a film or a joyful or triumphant moment in a story.

When I sat down to think about what film I wanted to cover for this blogathon I thought of several movies that make me cry no matter how many times I’ve seen them. I thought of It’s a Wonderful Life, Imitation of Life, Titanic, and even The Lion King. But there was another movie that came to mind that I recently watched and had a good cry over. But it may not be anything you would expect.

Mabel Normand is one of those names. Fans of early cinema know it well and are aware of its significance to both film history and women’s history. To casual film fans it might ring a bell but probably mostly in relation to Charlie Chaplin or to scandal. To the majority of people, (let’s face it, us early film fans aren’t as common as we wish) it is a name that doesn’t ring any bell at all. And isn’t that the awful truth for countless names of great women in history? This is my attempt to share with the world one of those great women who are all too often forgotten.